Today is World AIDS Day

Today, December 1, is World Day against AIDS, infectious disease virus that still today in many parts of the world, the African continent in the head but not only, reaps many victims of which a good part of children. Still, even if you multiply the initiatives, the gala benefits and events aimed at raising awareness of the entire world population against this disease (especially for “remember” what prevention is key to preventing the infection), it seems that many people you forget the risk and continue to have unprotected sex: scares a fact that shows how one in six young people in Italy do not use condoms, despite the risks.

But now someone says enough with a very important goal: “Put an end by 2030 to more serious outbreak that man has ever known, without leaving anyone behind. “This is the message that comes UNAIDS the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS is that it has become the slogan of the World AIDS Day. And the situation in Italy is unfortunately not rosy: according to the UNAIDS , in fact, we are the country, with more than 1,000 deaths a year, it has the highest prevalence of people living with HIV in all of Western Europe. In total there are about 140 thousand Italians positiveness although 15-25% do not know it.

They reflect the data in a disheartening statistic that regards Italy. Apparently, an HIV-positive in 4 does not know it because he realized that he had behaviors “at risk”, maybe it discovers by chance and later when, that is, start an antiretroviral therapy to prevent the disease becomes manifest a little ‘complicated.

As measured by the ISS, 4 HIV positive “new” (diagnosed as such in recent years), three are foreigners, and that the most at risk, in addition to them, are the older people than young. The delay in coming to discover their HIV status can really be dangerous because the immune system begins to be seriously compromised as it passes the time.

The good news however is that the infection in children has decreased significantly: “Vertical transmission is the major route of transmission of HIV infection in children. From 2009 to 2012, the number of new infections among children decreased by 40% thanks to information services and distribution of antiretroviral drugs. In the districts where we bring our help, the percentage of zero-prevalence has dropped in the last six years 23-13%.